Gainsaver
Complaint 68557 Details

On 10/17/2011 I order a 13" Macbook and purchased the extended three year warranty for an extra $150. Right out of the box, I noticed a crack on the underside of the machine leading to a screw, suggesting that it simply had been tightened too much. Over the next two months the crack continued to grow. On 12/15/2011 I placed my first customer service order and was told to ship the damaged machine back (at my own expense, of course) and they would send a replacement. Flash forward to today, I just filed my TENTH customer service request having been told for the third time that a manager would call me back (they didn't call the first two times). I've been told at different points that a requisite replacement part is out of stock, only to have another representative tell me they did indeed have the part and my order was being entered "as we speak." The next morning I woke to an email confirming the part was indeed out of stock.

I'm a college student on a budget who paid extra for the assurance that comes with a warranty. Not two months later I'm looking at a new semester of classes about to start and I STILL don't have a replacement for my pre-damaged computer.

Upon reading my negative reviews, gainsaver told me that they would be sending me a refund and no longer wished to do any business with me. Satisfied with this result, I ordered a computer from one of gainsaver's competators (macofalltrades.com who provided a very satisfactory experience). The following day, Gainsaver contacted me to say that I now qualified for a "special pricing" and so they could provide me with a computer after all. After I said I had already purchased a computer elsewhere, Gainsaver decided only to refund the cost of my computer, not the extra $150.00 I paid for the three year warranty (the terms of which gainsaver told me they were unable to satisfy).

I have tried repeatedly to contact Gainsaver both by filling out online customer service requests and calling them. Steve Harper - a name that is mentioned in several very negative reviews on multiple consumer review websites - flat out refused to answer any of my questions regarding their refund or warranty policies. After putting me on hold, he told me, "I'm going to go ahead and freeze your account and put a hold on any refunds...if you want your money you're going to have to sue us." I called back, this time saying I was going to record the call for "customer service" feedback and was hung up on immediately. That was two weeks ago. I have filed complaints with the California Attorney General, Better Business Bureau (who inexplicably rate Gainsaver an A+ business despite 279 complaints over the past three years), the Internet Crime Complaint Center, and the Federal Trade Commission. Gainsaver's response: to cancel my account, again without any sort of communication.

Perhaps considering some of the other Gainsaver horror stories I should consider myself lucky that they are only trying to screw me out of the $150.00 cost of the three year warranty (the terms of which gainsaver was unable to fulfill). However the deceptive and borderline criminal manner in which gainsaver, and Steve Harper in particular, do business has strengthened my resolve to exercise any means at my disposal to obtain my full refund.